3D printing (3DP) has emerged as a disruptive manufacturing technology that benefits both the manufacturing and educational sectors. The emergence of low-cost and affordable 3D printers has facilitated the widespread use of 3DP technology, particularly in higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing countries. Despite its promising benefits,…

In "The College Stress Test," Robert Zemsky, Susan Shaman, and Susan Campbell Baldridge present readers with a full, frank, and informed discussion about college and university closures. Drawing on the massive institutional data set available from IPEDS (the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System), they build a stress test for…

Recommendation 2 of the February 2012 report "Engage to Excel" from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST 2012) urges the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education community and funding agencies to "advocate and provide support for replacing standard laboratory courses with…

For many years, higher education institutions have been harvesting the low-hanging fruit when it comes to budget reductions and adjustments. Easier changes have often been made--such as cutting administration, using more adjunct faculty, contracting out inefficient or non effective auxiliary operations and so forth. Until recently such strategies,…

ACTA's report "The Cost of Chaos in the Curriculum" reveals that the vast array of course choices given to college students is a cause of exploding costs and poor academic outcomes. And a bloated undergraduate curriculum is particularly detrimental to the success of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The report documents how…

"Sustainability" is a key idea on college campuses in the United States and the rest of the Western world. To the unsuspecting, sustainability is just a new name for environmentalism. This report is the first in-depth critical study of the sustainability movement in higher education. The focus of this study is on how the sustainability…

ACTA's 12th state higher education report examines questions of great urgency for the state of Mississippi: How should individual public universities choose their leadership? Are the public universities careful stewards of taxpayer dollars? Is free speech protected on Mississippi's college campuses? The report assesses institutions on measures of…

Over the past twenty years, universities have increasingly employed credit-­based modular curriculum structures in an attempt to cater to the needs of more diverse student groups and to allow students greater flexibility and choice in managing their studies. With the increasing pressures placed on Australian universities to better support teaching…

Across the United States, community colleges offer millions of students an open-access, low-cost postsecondary education. However, of the students who enroll in community college hoping to earn a credential or transfer to a four-year institution, only about half achieve their goal within six years. For students who enter college needing…

The NEAIR 2009 Conference Proceedings is a compilation of papers presented at the Baltimore, Maryland conference. Papers in this document include: (1) A Principle Components Analysis of The Determinants of Student Satisfaction at a Historically Black Institution (Tao Gong and Jacqueline V. Parham); (2) Assessing and Enhancing Graduates'…